Paul Pierce has been known for dishing out plenty of hot takes over the years. But his recent claim that his NBA career was better than Dwayne Wade’s has sparked a nationwide debate.
After taking his fair share of heat over the last couple of weeks, Pierce finally is sharing his thoughts on the newfound debate, calling criticisms of his outspokenness are “nothing new.”
“I didn’t come into this game to please everybody, to make sure everybody likes me,” Pierce told The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “If I give my opinion on something and they don’t like my answers and then so be it. That’s the way I feel and people can say what they want to say.”
Pierce did earn the nickname “The Truth” for a reason. The 41-year-old is known for being blunt both on and off the court and has rarely shied away from speaking his mind, no matter how wild his opinion might be.
But even Pierce found talk of the feud as a distraction ahead of Wade’s retirement.
“I thought even like in Dwyane Wade’s last game, I thought that was silly (to talk about my comments) because it takes away from what he’s accomplished and what he’s done,” he said. “Why are they worried about what I say? I don’t even play no more. So yeah, I do laugh.”
Pierce isn’t the only one to feel this way, either. Ex-Celtic and former teammate Ray Allen made similar comments earlier in the week, claiming the debate took away from the greatness of both players.
Perhaps this will lead to the end of the debate. Then again, maybe not.
